Avis car rental - 3rd party liability insurance

Manxman_in_exile

My wife and I are looking at renting a car for a week in the Isle of Man.  One of the firms we are considering is Avis.

Looking through both their General Conditions and their Location Specific Conditions we are both a bit concerned about the third party liability cover they offer.

Their T&Cs appear to say that, while they will provide the minimum third party liability cover demanded by the law, they may pursue the hirer to recover their losses if the third party injury arose from an accident caused by the hirer’s negligence or recklessness.

Can anybody tell me if this is a standard condition for car rental 3rd party cover?  It’s years since we’ve hired a car and neither of us are particularly keen on the prospect of driving a car around the Isle of Man knowing that, although any victims of our inadvertent negligence will be covered by our insurers, our insurers may be entitled to recover those losses from us. 

Surely one of the points of 3rd party cover is to protect the insured from the potential financial consequences of their own negligence?  We could understand the stance taken by Avis if it only covered third party losses caused by deliberate acts or gross recklessness of the hirer, but not negligence.

(I can’t copy or link to their T&Cs for some reason but the relevant bits are “Section 10), Damage, Loss or Theft”, top of page 12 “Without Additional Cover” in the Avis General Conditions of Rental EN;  and “Are there any times when 3rd party liability cover would not apply”, top of un-numbered page 6 in the Location Specific Conditions UK.)

DullGreyGuy

Is this the doc? https://docs.abgcarrental.com/location/avis/UK/UK/en/ 

Are there any times when third party liability cover would not apply?
If the law requires us to provide you with third party liability cover, the minimum cover required by law will still apply but we, or our insurer, may seek to recover our costs from you if the accident was caused by:
• By you breaking the contract (for example allowing someone we had not approved drive the vehicle of driving whilst under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or any other unlawful substance),
• By you breaking the law
• As a result of your negligence or recklessness, or
• If you fail to report an accident or fail to provide information to our insurance company. 


https://docs.abgcarrental.com/rental/avis/UK/en/?rentalCountry=GB

Without additional cover
The vehicle comes with third party liability cover. This means you’re covered for any damage caused to another person's property - for example, their vehicle - and/or any injury suffered by third parties, including passengers in the rental vehicle. You will not have to pay any of their costs, unless the damage or injury was caused by:
• Your negligence
• You breaking the contract (for example allowing someone we have not approved drive the vehicle)
• Or you breaking the law
In these circumstances, if the law requires us to provide you with third party liability cover, the minimum cover required by law will still apply but we, or our insurer, may seek to recover our costs from you.
Third party liability cover does not cover any injury to the driver of the rental vehicle or any personal items inside the vehicle.


Primarily third party cover, being a compulsory class of insurance, is really to ensure the third party are duly compensated for your negligence and hence why if you let someone borrow your car who isnt covered by any insurance then your insurer still has to pay out but has a right of recovery from both you and the driver. The fact it protects you in normal circumstances is a secondary, though important, aspect.

Its slightly amusing that the two links refer to GB and UK for the Isle of Mann given it is part of neither but the site says these are the appropriate terms despite that.

We've used Avis a few times but cannot remember spotting those clauses. Tend to use Hertz more who's limitations are more comfortable...

https://images.hertz.com/pdfs/RT_FULL_GB_EN.pdf

KEY LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS
To the extent allowed under applicable law your insurance and waiver products will be void and no longer protect you if:
• you are in breach of your obligations under the Rental Agreement – see in particular the Rental Restrictions section of these Rental Terms.
• the loss or damage is caused intentionally.
• the driver was not authorised by Hertz as the main or additional driver

Manxman_in_exile

@DullGreyGuy - thanks.  Yeah, those are the sections we're concerned about.

I think we've resolved the problem by contacting a local rental firm directly.  (Should have done that in the first place.  Being an ex-pat Manxman I should have known that was the simplest thing to do... )

They're actually the agents for Avis and explained that in any case, even if it's an Avis rental, that it's their local booking and insurance  T&Cs that apply and not those of Avis.  (Again I should have realised.  Doh!).

Anyway, thanks again.